1ONE PERMANENT ROUTE
The same Group-to-Group path is used in every Category and edition. The teams and Host Cluster change; the route does not.
THE BRACKET NEVER CHANGES. THE TEAMS DO.
The same Group-to-Group route is used in every Championship Cup Category and every edition. Everyone can understand the path in advance: no surprises.
Category G adapts its entry stage and certified venue use to the larger field.
One simple, permanent rule: SAME ROUTE · DIFFERENT TEAMS · NO REPEAT OPPONENT BEFORE THE FINAL
Open passage ↗How the route works
Read these four principles before following the two geographical branches.
2OPPOSITE BRANCHES
Each branch receives one qualifier from every Group A–H. Teams from the same original group cannot meet again before the Final in this route.
3SHORTER JOURNEYS
Organisers use two geographical corridors to reduce supporter costs, player fatigue, unnecessary travel and carbon impact.
4CATEGORY G
Its larger field can adapt the entry stage and certified venue network. The same separation and geographical principles continue.
Why the system is fixed
A familiar path is easy to understand at any age. Supporters know where the competition is going; teams know the sporting path; organisers can plan two efficient geographical corridors inside the Host Cluster.
The illustrative route
Category F · West Africa 2038. The names and later-round venue choices show one possible development of the fixed pathway.
WIN YOUR GROUP, STAY AT YOUR PRIMARY HOST VENUEFINISH SECOND, TRAVEL TO THE OPPONENT’S PRIMARY HOST VENUENO REPEAT OPPONENT BEFORE THE FINAL
GEOGRAPHICAL BRACKET 1
ONE QUALIFIER FROM EACH GROUP A–HFIXED PATH · The teams change. The route does not.
GEOGRAPHICAL BRACKET 2
ONE QUALIFIER FROM EACH GROUP A–HFIXED PATH · The teams change. The route does not.
Both branches meet only in the Final.
FINAL
LAGOS
Cuba vs Afghanistan
NO SCORE SHOWNThis diagram illustrates how Category F could develop in West Africa in 2038. City and later-round venue choices are illustrative.
Legal foundations
Open the corresponding provisions of the English WUFO corpus. The example teams and later-round venues are illustrative.
STA / ART-67Permanent seven-Category Championship Cup architectureOpen passage ↗ · PDF p. 64STA / ART-70Round-of-16 cross-pairs, home/travel and hosting principlesOpen passage ↗ · PDF p. 65REG-14 / RULES 9–10One Group–One Stadium and the Round of 16Open passage ↗ · PDF p. 306REG-14 / RULE-11Adaptive certified venues from the QuarterfinalsOpen passage ↗ · PDF p. 306STA / ART-68Adaptation of the larger Category G fieldOpen passage ↗ · PDF p. 64STA / ART-75Opening and Final Host Positions drawn territoriallyOpen passage ↗ · PDF p. 69
STA / ART-70 fixes the Round-of-16 cross-pairs; from the Quarterfinals onward, certified venue choices remain adaptive. The no-rematch route shown here is the illustrated model.